Colorado county launches new emergency alert system

In November 2025, CodeRED, an alert system that multiple counties in Colorado were using, was part of a nationwide cyberattack. It prompted Douglas County to cancel its contract with the company and seek a more secure option. So DougCo Alert launched recently to meet the needs of the community.

"In that lull, our best option was to go door to door, knock on doors, let people know what's going on," said Taylor Davis, who oversees the program. "That's not effective. It's not efficient. So it was a high priority to get this done quickly."

After weeks without a countywide emergency alert system, Douglas County is rolling out the new platform with a new company. Davis says DougCo Alert is able to provide more information to both residents and first responders than the previous alert system.

"You'd get that information, and it kind of just stops there," Davis said. "With the example of animals in your house at that point, it would have been basically incumbent on you to call our 911. Now, we already have that information before you even get a chance to call."

In addition to alerting the public of severe weather, flooding, a fire, shelter-in-place, or other emergencies, DougCo Alert can give Douglas County agencies potentially lifesaving information about your household.

"If they have somebody in their family that has medical concerns, maybe special needs in an emergency situation, that would let our officers know, 'Hey, at this address, you have this individual with these particular needs,'" Davis said. "That's a massive feature for us."

The feedback from the public has been positive since the new service was launched.

"We've already had thousands of residents sign up in Douglas County," Davis said.

Visit the DougCo Alert website to sign up and learn more. Users will be asked to change their password every six months. This is a new security feature to prevent another cyberattack where passwords were specifically targeted from happening again. 

It's important to note, nobody will be automatically enrolled into the system, including anyone previously signed up for the now outdated CodeRED.